How to Travel With Kids and Keep Them Happy and Occupied

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Inside: Traveling with kids? Here are fun and affordable travel products for big kids and tweens that you need to keep them satisfied and keep you sane.

Summertime is here, and for many, that means travel. Whether it’s by plane, train or automobile, time spent confined in any mode of transportation can make anyone antsy. Especially big kids and tweens.

Hormonal changes, mood swings, and emotional sensitivity, oh my. How do you keep your mini travelers happy and occupied on your journey?

You need easy and affordable travel products for kids and tweens.

That’s been my struggle. Figuring out what to pack with ease on our plane trip.

You see, this summer, we’re taking our tween on her first trip to Playa Mujeres, which means she’ll be taking her first plane trip, ever.

We’ve got road trips down pat. But air travel will be a different ball game. No pit stops. No easily accessible USB ports. No scenery.

The thought of traveling by air to another country can create a bit more stress than road trips. In a car, you can pack as much as you can reasonably fit.

You can also make quick stops for last-minute items or anything you’ve forgotten. Super easy.

Air travel, on the other hand, is a bit more limiting. Ideally, you want to be efficient and pack lighter.

But with a tween, you are also battling boredom and the “when will we get there?” challenge. You need things to keep the tween travelers happy and occupied. That, my friends, is no easy feat.

And while I’m all about talking and quality time with my kiddo, I also realize she’s not going to want to “talk to mom” for three straight hours. She’s gonna need some things to do.

And that leads us to these awesome travel products that tweens will love- check out these easy-to-carry-on and sure-to-please travel must-haves.

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Fun and Affordable Travel Products for Kids and Tweens

Tablet or Cell Phone – A tablet is great for traveling tween. You can download age-appropriate movies from Netflix or eBooks. They can also play games if connected to WiFi in flight.

Portable Battery Charger – Definitely keep a portable charger on hand so you don’t have to worry about downtime and don’t have to scramble to find an outlet on the go. This Koral 2000mAh is super compact – credit card sized! I love this vibrant orange one!

Earbuds – If they are going to be watching movies or playing games then you can’t be without these.

Don’t be the people playing audio and video without headphones of some sort.

Another option: these over the ear bluetooth headphones which are reasonably priced and also adorable.

Let them get creative. A lot of tweens can occupy themselves for hours with just paper, pens or pencils. I like these sketchbooks a lot because their size (5.5 x 8.5) is ideal for travel and can fit easily in a travel backpack or tote.

Drawing and doodling provides hours of entertainment…..in an airport, on a plane, in a car, hotel, restaurant, and on and on. Best of all, no battery or charger required!

Mad Libs. That’s right. If you’re a child of the ’80s, surely you will remember Mad Libs. If you don’t recall, or if you don’t know, it’s a game in which you have to come up with a list of words each story asks for: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Then, you just insert the words into the blanks of the story and the results are usually hilarious.

And don’t forget your comfy items. Bring a travel pillow so your tween can sleep on the plane or in the car.

Or if you have a Pusheen fan, take a look at this cute Pusheen Travel Pillow on Amazon.

So there you go – a few easy-to-pack winners to help keep your tween traveler happy while en route!